Marriage Tax Allowance: what is it and are you eligible?

2 years ago

The Government is about to introduce a new tax incentive for married couples and people in a civil partnership. You'll soon be able to apply online through GOV.UK Verify.

If you're married or in a civil partnership, and you earn less than the tax-free threshold of £10,600, you can transfer up to 10% of your tax-free allowance to your other half, as long as they're on the basic tax rate.

This means your partner could increase their tax-free allowance by £1,060 and benefit from paying £212 less tax for the year.

Who's eligible?

If you're married or in a civil partnership, and you meet the earnings criteria, you may qualify for Marriage Allowance. You and your spouse or civil partner also need to have been born on or after 6 April 1935. If either of you were born before this date you can claim the Married Couple's Allowance instead.

How could you and your spouse or partner benefit?

From 6 April 2015, the amount you can earn before paying tax is £10,600. Anything between this amount and £42,385 is taxed at 20%. Say for example you earn £8,000 in the tax year, you'll have £2,600 of your tax-free allowance that you're not using.

Of this £2,600 of unused tax-free allowance, you'll be able to transfer £1,600 to your other half, as long as they're on the basic 20% tax rate. This increases their tax-free allowance to £11,660, and the 20% saving on this extra amount is £212.

When and how do you receive the money?

If you are the spouse or partner who is receiving the allowance, and you're employed, your earnings will be taxed a little less each month. You'll be given an amended tax code, which will ensure your employer takes the allowance into account each payday.

How do I register?

You can register your interest in receiving the Marriage Allowance now by submitting your details on GOV.UK Marriage Allowance. The allowance isn't up and running yet, but you'll receive an email once you're able to apply.

Applying through GOV.UK Verify

Once the Marriage Allowance has come into effect, you'll be able to apply online through GOV.UK Verify. Part of the application process is an identity check - this is because you'll need to submit personal information and the Government needs to know that you are who you say you are.

But it's not as scary as it sounds. CitizenSafe are one of the Government's trusted third party identity verification partners. You'll see us on the list when you go to apply for Marriage Allowance through GOV.UK Verify. We'll help make your identity check as simple and straightforward as possible.

Register for your CitizenSafe identity check now

If you register with us now we can keep your details safe until it's time to have your identity checked. Then, once it's time to get verified, the process will be quicker as we'll already have some of the information we need.

What other services can I use through GOV.UK Verify?

Once we've verified your identity and you've successfully registered with GOV.UK Verify, you'll be able to access a whole range of government services online. So far, this includes completing your Self Assessment tax return, checking your Income Tax, applying for the State Pension, and checking your Driving Licence record.

We can keep you up to date

As more government services are made available through GOV.UK Verify, we can let you know what's going live and when – including Marriage Allowance. Simply register for reminder emails here. (Don't worry, we won't share your email address with anyone else.)

Find out more

Stay tuned to CitizenSafe for loads of useful information about GOV.UK Verify and the government services you can use online. We have plenty of tips and guides to help you with all this life admin too – whether you're completing your Self Assessment tax return for the first time or you'd like to know if driving company car would be cost effective.